Steven Naismith has set his sights on entering the Scotland hall of fame, believing that he still has a lot to offer at international level.

The 31-year-old is on 45 caps, needing five more to write his name into the record books for his country, and he is determined to reach that landmark.

The prospect of that achievement is making him doubly determined to secure first-team football, whether that’s at Norwich City or elsewhere, so that he can catch the incoming manager’s eye.

“I definitely do still want to play for Scotland,” said Naismith. “I think I can still offer something.

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“Although we’ve got a lot of quality players, I still feel that I can do a job in games that are tight. Any time I’ve played, I feel that I have contributed.

“Getting close to 50 caps is another thing that is driving me forward. That would be something I would never have expected to get when I was younger, and that’s something that I would definitely like to achieve if I could.

“I need to play though, and I need to be doing well, and hopefully whoever the manager is will put me in the squad and see how it goes.”

Naismith believes that he has become a better player the older he has gotten, with his lifestyle now a far cry from when he was starting out in the game.

“I was in the gym on Saturday morning and there were 14-year-olds in doing circuits that were far in advance of anything I was doing as a teenager,” he said. “When you see them in the canteen, they’re all eating the right food as well.

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“When I was their age I’d eat a bar of Dairy Milk at half-time in every game to get some sugar in my body! James Fowler used to scoff Jaffa Cakes before games and at the interval – and they did give you a wee boost.

“Now, though, you use sports gels for that and other things you can take. I’ve been doing that for 10 years now.

“Fortunately, I was never blessed with lightning pace, so I’ve always thought more about the game. Plus, as you get older as a forward, you become a better finisher.

“You understand the game more. For me, that’s about finding the right areas of the pitch where I can have that extra yard of space that can make a difference for the team.”